NLSY97 Geocode Data

In addition to all main file data, the NLSY97 Geocode CD provides a variety of
statistics for the counties where respondents lived at each interview date. Most of these data
are based on the 1994 edition of the U.S. Census Bureaus County and City Data Book (the most
recent edition available). The first group of geocode variables lists basic demographic
information for respondents counties. These data include specific state and county at time of residence;
land area in square miles; population
by race, age, and gender; and birth and death rates. Another variable reports the percent of
persons in that county who lived in a different house and/or state in 1990 compared to their
residence in 1985, providing information about migration rates for the respondents area.

Factors that might influence the respondents education and employment outcomes are the focus of
several other geocode variables. These provide the number of serious crimes, households with
children, female householders with no spouse present, persons with high school or college degrees,
and families below the poverty level. A pair of variables summarizes medical availability for
each county, reporting the number of active nonfederal physicians and community hospital beds.

Geocode variables associated with economic and labor force issues include the size of the
countys civilian labor force, the percent employed in various industries, and the percent of
workers age 16 and over with jobs outside their county of residence. Income variables include
per capita money income for the respondents county, per capita personal income, and median
family money income. The unemployment rates for metropolitan areas or for the portions of the
state not in an MSA are also reported.

The final geocode variables involve colleges attended by respondents. Survey staff use
information from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data Systems (IPEDS) to provide users
with the code identifying each college attended by the respondent and its location. These codes
can be used to associate the NLSY97 respondents college with various characteristics of the
institution contained in the IPEDS database.

Due to the detailed nature of the information found on the Geocode CD, use of this dataset is
restricted to those meeting confidentiality requirements. The Geocode CD is released only to
those who satisfactorily complete the Bureau of Labor Statistics geocode agreement procedure.
Final approval rests with the Commissioner of BLS.